I want to be friends with the residents of Magnolia Court! I’d be very happy to spend cocktail hour in the company of these wry and astute seniors. They can certainly spin a yarn. Speaking of which, the ultimate storyteller is the creator of The Silveries mysteries: Angela Dandy herself.
I came into this cosy mystery series as Angela’s copy-editor from Book 3 onwards, and Novel No. 6 is booked in with me for an edit this summer.
Please join me as I quiz Angela on the inspirations – both real and imagined – behind this lively and layered series.
1. The residents of Magnolia Court feel incredibly real to me after working on several of your Silveries books. Since writers often borrow little details from the people around them, I’d love to know: are any of the Magnolia Court residents inspired by people you’ve known in real life?
Certainly, but hopefully not too obviously. Let’s take Amy and Duncan first. Both are elderly. Duncan is disabled. Both are sharp as knives and accept taking risks as part and parcel of life. Both of them are determined. Both of them – and this applies to all residents of Magnolia Court – have a love of life and live it to the full. My mother. A true matriarch, always looking forward to the next adventure, less mobile in later life, lived until she was 99 and, more than anything, hated the idea that anybody might think of her as old. And then there’s Dennis with his ride-on lawn mower and Paul growing the vegetables. My father. As a child, I remember the cricket pitch lines on the lawn and the fresh vegetables grown in the garden. And Peter, the surly banker – my grandfather.
Family apart, there are friends of mine who have bought cottages at Magnolia Court. Jennifer is so like a friend of mine in looks, in skills and personality. No names.
Many years ago – and I’m going back forty or more – I was on holiday with my sister when she started chatting to two guys at an adjacent table in a restaurant. My first meeting with two gay guys. Kind, considerate, generous; we had a fabulous time with them. Thus Gerald and Thomas were born.
Now I come to think of it, I could put names of people I know or have known against most of my residents. The visitors to my novels are mostly of my own design.
2. Although The Silveries books sit firmly in the cosy mystery genre, they don’t shy away from weightier topics. What draws you to cosy mysteries as a writer, and why do you find that format works well for telling those deeper stories?
Because life is hard at times and depressing when you listen to bad news day after day, I like to think that through my books, I bring some joy into the world. Hence the happy-ever-after endings. I like to visualise my readers curled up in bed, excited to read the next chapter in the knowledge that it will not be too packed with violence, or explicit sex for that matter, nor give them nightmares. The weightier subjects – the underlying themes – in each of the novels, I try to address with sensitivity, although at times I do have to be a little direct.
Why does the format work well? It’s a matter of balance – highlighting a serious topic while delivering a constant reminder that there is good in the world.
3. You mention on your website that you came to writing in your ‘third chapter’ of life. What characterised chapters one and two, and are there skills from those earlier chapters that come in useful now that you’re a writer?
I’d love to be able to say that I was once a journalist or taught English grammar, which would, no doubt, give me far more gravitas as a writer, but you’ll know from working with my drafts that neither would be true!
I did a great deal of writing during my career and sat at a computer more hours than now. Hours upon hours of writing minutes, computer training manuals, presentations, and later, business and project plans.
If I were to home in on any three skills that help me now, it would be systems analysis, project planning and people management. Systems analysis because it requires logic, leaving no loose ends. Project planning because it makes you juggle resources – scope, money, time – and learn that change is inevitable and has to be managed. An old boss of mine once said, ‘Time is not a renewable resource.’ How right he was. People management because nothing in this world happens if you don’t respect and take people along with you.
And life’s experiences cannot pass without a mention. Learning through caring to be supportive, patient and empathetic.
4. You’re well-travelled, and some of that international flavour makes its way into your books. Do particular places tend to spark story ideas, or do the ideas come first and the setting follows?
California is where my heart lay for a good ten years when my husband and I retired and kept an RV out there. My first novel, sadly no longer available, was inspired by glorious sunny days in one campground after another. The Silveries was partly inspired by the American concept of senior citizen independent living – again viewed firsthand in California. The Silver Dagger drew on a wonderful holiday I had in the Golden Triangle of India. My latest novel, The Silver Bullet, draws on a recent holiday in San Carlos, Mexico. The novel I am writing at this moment, The Silver Fox, is set in sheep farming country in New South Wales. I did visit Australia a very long time ago, and I do have distant cousins who farm there. The Silver Lining shifts between the UK and Romania. Hands up, I’ve never been to Romania other than on Google!
Turning to ideas… When I’m planning my next book, I’m always looking for a topical subject for the bedrock – property scams, gambling, paedophilia, human trafficking and, for my next book … That would be a spoiler!
5. You’re also a playwright. Do you find that writing for the stage influences the way you approach a novel – perhaps in dialogue, pacing, or the way you imagine scenes unfolding?
Not something I have really thought about – but yes. In a play, every word spoken has to have a purpose, and time is at a premium. I only write one-act plays – twenty to thirty minutes, and one has a very short space of time to tell a story and get a message across. I think this is always at the back of my mind, such that you won’t find a lot of flowery description in my novels. And in a play, the characters must be quickly differentiated by an audience. I try to make sure that all of my characters have their own easily distinguishable personalities.
6. I’m always curious about writers’ working habits. What does a typical writing day look like for you? Do you have a favourite place or routine that helps you get into the flow of your writing?
It’s time to come clean! I don’t have a typical (novel) writing day. I juggle a million and one things – plays, book writing, publishing, publicity, financial management, book fairs, film and theatre, holiday planning and holidays, family and friends, house and garden. I have lists up on the kitchen cabinets, on the phone, by my computer, by my bed. For one who once taught time-management skills amongst other things, and the importance of prioritising everything, I fail miserably. It’s JIT these days. When I have a writing deadline to meet, I know in my head that I need to aim at so many thousand words a day or a week, but it rarely happens. As a deadline creeps nearer, panic sets in. I stick a ‘gone fishing’ note on the front door, don’t answer the phone, and try not to think about all the other jobs that are on the priority list and won’t wait.
I write in my conservatory and try not to be distracted by the birds and the jobs that are waiting to be done in the garden.
A full-time author I am not!
7. As a reader yourself, what kinds of books do you most enjoy, and do they influence the way you write?
Crime thrillers – fast-moving action like those written by PD James, Lee Child. My favourite novelist has always been Wilbur Smith, partly because of the derring-do and also because I’ve always enjoyed learning about South African history and culture, and latterly that of Egypt.
If I were to home in on books that have influenced my reading style, it would be that of the late Dick Francis. Driven by dialogue with minimal supporting descriptions, they’re fast and furious and simply resonate with me.
8. You publish your books independently, which means making decisions about editing, cover design, typesetting, and all the other pieces that go into a finished novel. Is that level of involvement something you enjoy, being part of the process from start to finish?
Yes, being part of the end-to-end process gives me a strong sense of ownership. I’m fortunate to have very talented associates who guide me through the process and manage a deal of the technicalities for me. It’s a whole new, ever-changing skill set which forces me to keep fairly up-to-date with technology. It’s a challenge. Having seven books published, I have my own personal vision for the end result.
9. We’ve now worked together on several books in the series. What made you decide to hire me as your copyeditor – and what keeps you coming back to me for this service?
For reasons of cost and the level of support that I was receiving at the time, I needed to make the break from hybrid publishing to self-publishing. You came highly recommended as a copy-editor. It was only after you copy-edited the fourth book I’d written that I truly appreciated the value of a good copy-editor. When I look back at earlier novels, I see the vast difference between a good copy-editor and a moderate one who simply does the job. You, Claire, climb inside a book and live it.
10. Finally, what are you working on right now, and where can readers keep up to date with you and your books?
The Silver Fox, Book 6 in the Silveries series.
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Thanks so much for agreeing to be interviewed, Angela. The day the first Silveries novel landed in my inbox was certainly a good one – I have such a good time when we work together, and I’m looking forward to working on The Silver Fox this summer. Hmm, the cogs are already whirring. Can’t wait to see what transpires!
CherryEdits 